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PODCAST

Acquiring Minds

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business. Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds Sign up for episode summaries at: https://acquiringminds.co

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

77:56

Founder Mode for ETA: $6m to $25m in 3 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/29

Aizik Zimerman bought a home services business to build a consumer brand into his life's work. It seems to be working. Register for the webinar: The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration - Thu Oct 2nd - https://bit.ly/46E2uv8Topics in Aizik’s interview:There is endless opportunity in home servicesHis goal of $1 billion in revenueAdvantage of his youthful energyGoing all-in on digital advertisingSmall business = big problemsFounder Mode theoryOrganic growth

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80:34

Family Offices for Searchers: A Primer

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/25

James Bohannon of family office Belzberg & Co. explains the FO world and its untapped potential for searchers & sponsors.Topics in James’s interview:What is a family office?Family office capital sustains private marketsYou may wear jeans, but there are tradeoffsPrivate, insular nature of family officesHow to network with family officesWhen it makes sense to exit to a family officeLong-term holds are a good fitPlaying defense and offense within family officesFamily offices do not

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87:41

Deciding to Exit After 2 Years of Ownership

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/22

Register for the webinar: Liquidity Options for Search Investors - Wed Sep 24th - https://bit.ly/48lptOcJack Saville was asked if owning a small business was underutilizing his talents. The question prompted a big decision.Topics in Jack and Sam’s interview:Jack’s motivation to own something and take a riskYou are always buying a jobLinking up with Sam Rosati through SMBootcampBuying a business far from his familyRealizing that he didn’t want to operate a lifestyle businessDifficulties of

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93:09

So Much Fun: The Buyer of Choice in a Fragmented...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/18

Register for the webinars: Liquidity Options for Search Investors - Wed Sep 24th - https://bit.ly/41WmQymEmployee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - TODAY!- https://bit.ly/4nrvvkDMark Anderegg built the largest private daycare business in New England. He loved the model so much he's doing it again. Topics in Mark’s interview:Raising a search fund himselfBeing the “world’s worst searcher”Acquiring a 16-location childcare networkPressure of running an essential businessThe

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129:53

From SBA Loan to High 8-Figure Exit

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/15

Register for the webinar: Employee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu Sep 18th - https://bit.ly/4mbU9EIJerod Pierce bought an HVAC business with $500k of SDE. Five years later, private equity was desperate to buy him out.Topics in Jerod’s interview:Challenging upbringing in foster careAdaptability as a survival skillJoining the investment club in collegeGetting his MBA from Harvard Business SchoolLearning about ETA from Rick and RoyceSearching only in Seattle by cold

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82:07

The Flywheel of Buying Businesses in a Single Region

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/11

Register for the webinar: Buyer of Choice Series Pt 1: Building Your Personal Buyer Brand (in a Sea of Searchers) - TODAY!- https://bit.ly/46ntJLGDoug Lepisto has partnered with 7 searchers to acquire businesses strictly in Western Michigan. Momentum is building.Topics in Doug’s interview: Having one foot in academia, one in businessPlace-based private equity modelDelivering returns while elevating Western MichiganCompetitive advantage through building local trust“Find the operator, find

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109:34

Hiring a CEO to Run Things (and Get Life Back)

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/08

Register for the webinar: Buyer of Choice Series Pt 1: Building Your Personal Buyer Brand (in a Sea of Searchers) - Thu Sep 11th - https://bit.ly/4pcznI8Jeremy Hunka bought a $2m cabinet business, and year one consumed him. Leadership had to evolve for things to improve.Topics in Jeremy’s interview:Buying a business at age 27Rocky first day as ownerLiving 1.5 hours from the businessEmployees wanting him present every dayTaking too long to fire an employeeWatching sales drop dangerously

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91:37

A Few Hours Per Week, a Few States Away

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/04

Register for the webinar: Love & Leverage: Lessons from Couples Who Acquired Together - TODAY! - https://bit.ly/4mBLyw5Brett Maxam bought a concrete business with high 6 figures of earnings. Despite being a plane ride away, it's gone well.Topics in Brett’s interview:His desire to “run the show” after watching acquisitions up closeInvolving his wife as a sounding boardBuying a business a plane ride awayProactively negotiating for a seller note“Shut up and let them do a little more

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103:00

The Joy & Pain of Buying a Tech Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/09/01

Register for the webinar: Love & Leverage: Lessons from Couples Who Acquired Together - Thu Sep 4th - https://bit.ly/47PpZ6LFelipe Corcuera bought an automation company that didn't offer AI. Since ChatGPT was released, he has had to adapt.Topics in Felipe’s interview: Imperfect information in the lower middle marketPivoting from investing to operatingFinding a partner with complementary strengthsHow he defines success during searchAI threats to traditional SaaS businessesTesting for

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84:59

$2 Million of Fun: Big Margins in Play Centers

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/28

About fall conferences: Southeast Entrepreneurship through Acquisition Conference2025 Buy Then Build SummitMcguireWoods Independent Sponsor ConferenceM &A Launchpad's Fall Show (use ACQUIRINGMINDS for a discount)Despite tight search criteria, Daniel Batista found a business that excited him. The eye-popping margins were a bonus.Topics in Daniel’s interview:His experience in the film industryLaunching a Latino media brandSearching for a fun businessAcquiring an indoor playground LA

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81:40

Stacking Small Acquisitions to $5m in Revenue

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/25

About fall conferences: Southeast Entrepreneurship through Acquisition Conference2025 Buy Then Build SummitMcguireWoods Independent Sponsor ConferenceM &A Launchpad's Fall Show (use ACQUIRINGMINDS for a discount)Kyle Boyden & Jake Furfaro bought tiny cleaning companies, five times. While painful, it taught them ops & integration.Topics in Kyle and Jake’s interview:Leaving a “cushy sales job” to buy a businessDoing no due diligence on the first acquisitionCons of property

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74:11

4th Time's the Charm: 3 Broken Deals to Buy a Great...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/21

Register for the webinar:Overcoming Common Deal Sticking Points - Thu Aug 21st - https://bit.ly/4oB4zAkBryan Houck was fatigued of his search and broken deal costs when he finally closed on an award-winning creative agency.Topics in Bryan’s interview:Losing everything in a startup at 41Discovering his personal talentsUsing a buy-side advisorUps and downs of searchImportance of meeting the ownerBuying an in-person creative agencyThe “Superbowl winning” team at Extra Credit ProjectsTalking to

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81:05

Buying and Building a Xerox Dealer to $30m

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/18

Register for the webinar:Overcoming Common Deal Sticking Points - Thu Aug 21st - https://bit.ly/3UrzG3FJeff Horn left a lucrative path to buy a $5m copier sales and service firm. 5 years later he exited for a great return.Topics in Jeff’s interview:Feeling a calling to leadLeaving a high-paying job to searchYou have to check the character boxAcquiring a Xerox dealershipSpending the first 90 days building relationships3 buckets of growthLearning to rely on great employeesChallenges of

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96:42

A Searcher’s Second Act: Building a $25m Holdco

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/14

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:Smithlist - Operate & Lead a BusinessAfter success as a traditional searcher, Eric Calderon started building an industry-focused holding company in 2020.Topics in Eric’s interview:Accepting investment from Rick and RoyceAcquiring through traditional searchCommitment to community banksUps and downs of the oil and gas industry“You gotta tell your story to anyone

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72:24

2 Years to $40m: The Anatomy of a High-Velocity Roll-up

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/11

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:Smithlist - Operate & Lead a BusinessWhen Luis Reyes bought a small fire safety business, he saw an opportunity. 24 acquisitions later, he's at $8m EBITDA.Topics in Luis’s interview:Luis’s early careerLaunching a roll-up strategy in SpainIdentifying consolidation opportunitiesFirst acquisitions in poultry distribution and fire safetyBuilding and leading a team

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75:45

From 16 Years in Corporate to a $1m SDE Acquisition

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/07

Register for the webinar:The "Plant Your Flag" Strategy: Build an Empire with ETA + Franchising - TODAY - https://bit.ly/3UH3w45After years of corporate success, Jesus Wong yearned for something else. When he discovered ETA, he knew he'd found it.Topics in Jesus’s interview:Childhood in Mexico and CanadaFamily history of entrepreneurshipBuying a Canadian garment repair businessLow capex, high labor costsStructuring his deal without the SBAMitigating the risk of high customer

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89:23

Building a $25m FedEx Route Empire from $100k Equity

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/08/04

Register for the webinar:The "Plant Your Flag" Strategy: Build an Empire with ETA + Franchising - Thu Aug 7 - https://bit.ly/45i7eGeAvery Tomek bought his first little $1m FedEx route with an SBA loan. 3 years later, he has 240 trucks and $600k weeks.Topics in Avery’s interview:Pivoting from real estate to FedEx routesUps and downs of CovidExpanding his fleetRunning his logistics business remotelyEverything hinges on weekly depositsWhat makes a route lucrative (or costly)No marketing or

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111:24

Buying a $200m Franchisor (Not Units, the Whole System)

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/07/31

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:Smithlist - Operate & Lead a BusinessTyler & Zach Gordon's search for an overlooked industry with good prospects led to a franchise system of thrift stores.Topics in Tyler & Zach’s interview:Zach and Tyler’s backgrounds in franchisingLooking for career fulfillmentFormulating a search strategyFocusing on overlooked industriesDiscovering thrift store

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86:29

A $10m Acquisition for Freedom and Family

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/07/28

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:Smithlist - Operate & Lead a BusinessAnica John bought a print-on-demand business to have more time with her kids without compromising her career ambitions.Topics in Anica’s interview:Experience at Amazon, WalMart, and Disney StreamingChoosing entrepreneurship over returning to officeBuying a publishing company for indie authorsHigh capex = moatDiversity of their

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77:46

You’ve Been Served: Buying a $1.3m Process-Serving...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/07/24

Register for the webinar:Working Capital for SMB Acquisitions - TODAY - https://bit.ly/4kQcGGjAt a low point in life, Raj Kankaria was served papers. But he liked the business and bought a process-serving company. Topics in Raj’s interview:From investment banking to process serverWhat he liked about process servingBuying the company from his bossBuilding industry relationshipsWhat TV gets wrong about process servingTechnology in process servingMaking changes on day oneCommunicating

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395 results

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